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(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1'.

R. D. EVANS 8: R. M. GREEN. MACHINE FOR BENDING METAL LINKS.

No; 256,104. Patented Apr. 4,1882.

"WWWIHHIMWWIHIHIHIIIIWHHHH Patented Apr. 4, 1882.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

R. D. EVANS & R. M. GREEN.

MACHINE FOR BENDING METAL LINKS.

lVudvzeJs/es' UNITED STATES- PATENT ()FFICE.

ROBLEY D. EVANS AND RICHARD M. GREEN, OF WASHINGTON, D. G.

MACHINE FOR BENDING METAL LINKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 256,104, dated. April4., 1882,

Application filed January 13, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom ti may concern Be it known that we, RoBLEY D. EVANS andRICHARD M. GREEN, of Washington city, D. (3., have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Machines for Bending Metal Links, of which thefollowing is a clear, full, and exact descriptiomreference being bad tothe accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, inwhich- Figure l is a front elevation of a link-bending machine with ourimprovements attached. Fig. 2 is a section through 0000 of Fig. 1. Fig.3 represents the position of the parts after the link has been bent.Fig. 4 is a detail to be referred to.

Ourinvention relates to machines for cutting and bending metal linksfrom-cold iron; and it consists in the combination of deviceshereinafter described and claimed.

To enable others to make and use our invention, we will proceed todescribe the exact manner in which we have carried it out.

It is well-known that the fiber of iron is more or less injured by everyheatin g of the metal, and to avoid a heating and consequent injury isone object of our invention. It is also well known that in bendingheated iron none of its imperfections are exposed,and chains are liableto be made of imperfect and faulty metal, while the bending of the ironcold exposes any imperfections which may exist in the fiber of themetal, and all imperfect links can be rejected, and the best resultssecured.

In the drawings, A A represent vertical guides, and B a cutter-headsliding on the same and attached to the crank-shaft 0 by theconnecting-rod D. The crank-shaft, as shown in the'drawiugs,is operatedby the hand-wheel E. While this arrangement is shown by us as one meansof operating the cutter-head B in actual practice, the piston-rod of asteam-hammer is attached to and operates the cutter-head. This affords apower sufficient to cut and bend the links of cold iron two inches indiameter with great rapidity.

The cutter-head B is provided with dovetailed grooves b b, in which areheld the bending-tool F and cutting-tool G by means of lugs (see Fig. 4)formed by heads of the screwboltsfffitting snugly in the grooves. Thesescrew-bolts are loosened or tightened by means ofthenutsff.

When the screw-boltsff are loosened the bending-tool and cutter can beadjusted laterally to suit the work to be done, and when these bolts aretightened the bending-tool and cutter are held firmlyin position. Thedie-block is grooved in similar manner to receive the heads of thescrew-bolts h h and it, which hold the dies in position, and by whichthese standards H H may be adjusted to their work like the bending-tooland cutter in the cutter-head. Each die is recessed in its face toreceive the friction-rollers h ,which rest upon and revolve on the bodyof the screw-bolts t', as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. When the metal rod isin position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, for cutting andbending, the cutterhead descends and the cutter, being longer, seversthe'rod by the time and just as the bendingtool comes into action, andas the cutter-head continues to descend the bending-tool carries thelink-piece downbetween the standards H H, the piece in its descent beingcaught upon the friction rollers h, and thus protecting it from theinjury which would result from its being forced against a stationary orrigid portion of the dies. These rollers allow the metal to bend withoutdisrupting the fiber of the metal, which is an essential feature of ourimprovement.

Along the front and one side of the dies we pass the plate I, held inposition by the bolts t. This plate is slotted, as shown in Fig. 1, toallow it to be adjusted on the bolts. The end of the plate furnishesbearing for the adjusting-screws J J. The position of the screw Jdetermines the distance the link-rod can be passed under the cutter,while the screw J steadies and holds the die opposite to the cutterfirmly in position during strain from the bending-tool. The face of thedies may be slightly grooved to furnish a bed to steady the link-rodwhile being cut and bent.

It has been ascertained by actual experiments that chain made from linksbent while cold will stand a higher strain than those made from linksbent while the metal is hot, which fact renders our invention of specialvalue.

We are aware that devices in some respects similar to that hereindescribed are found in staple'making machines; but these we disclaim.

We claim as our invention and improvement 1. The cross-head B, havingthe dovetail the anti-friction rolls attached thereto, of the [O groovesand the independent adjustable cutter slotted plate I and the screws J Jsubstanand bender attached thereto by bolts having tially as described.correspondingly-dovetailed heads, in combina- 5 tion withsimilarly-grooved die-block, and the standards carrying anti-frictionrolls attached thereto and independently adjustable in a similar manner,substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the standards and 1 Witnesses:

H. K. GRAY, FRANCIS W001).

